Under Pressure
by CF-fanfiction
Summary: What happens when the pressure finally catches up with a hero? When the choices are just too difficult? A look at what would happen if Sonic didn't win, but ran away. .:COMPLETE:.


Flower: What happens when the pressure finally catches up with a hero? When the choices are just too difficult? Not sure what to do with this; just an idea really. I think it turned out well. I might not add another chapter though.  
  
Chaos: *shrug* Maybe, if this gets too long...  
  
*  
  
"I...I can't...I can't!" Sonic yelled at the Doctor.  
  
Eggman froze; they all did. The half-robotic opponent opposite Sonic bleeped a few times in confusion, and looked at its master.  
  
Amy froze in the glass tube, her mouth open mid-shout. Tails and Knuckles, standing far behind on the other side of the room, paused mid-run. Eggman was poised over the button that would destroy the capsule.  
  
The plan had seemed simple; run in, save Amy, beat up Eggman, run out again. But then they got there, and Eggman made his challenge. His words echoed still in the blue hedgehog's ears.  
  
"So, you want to save your girlfriend, rat? Well, defeat this, and I'll let her go. Lose, and bye-bye to her." The Doctor had said with a sick grin. Then a hole had opened in the middle of the floor, and a platform rose up.  
  
Standing on the platform was a monster. Half robot, half hedgehog, it looked like. But that wasn't what had hit Sonic so hard. It was the fact that he knew the hedgehog. Only too well.  
  
The half-hedgehog had opened its red eye, and it's robotic one had lit up brightly. Its black-and-red striped quills flashed as the metal plates along them had charged up. Sonic gasped.  
  
"Shadow..." he had whispered. Eggman had laughed, and snarled, "Oh yes, I found your little friend. He wasn't 'lost' after his fall. Dead, yes, but I put that to good use. Now...fight him!"  
  
The monster had blipped out a challenge with its robotic mouth. Then Sonic had seen its emotionless eye, as close to dead as it could get, he had thought. Then he had shouted. "I...I can't...I can't!"  
  
"He doesn't deserve that..." he said bitterly, and then turned and ran for it. Tails stuttered out, "W...w...wait!" As Sonic ran past, the fox saw the pain in the hedgehog's eyes.  
  
Eggman broke the silence, and started laughing. "Finally! I win! Mwahahahahah!" Sonic was gone.  
  
* (One year later)  
  
Tails' workshop had changed a lot in a year. It had been extended, fortified. Oh, and it was on Angel Island. But Tails had changed more, that's what Knuckles thought, as he stood in the plane hanger.  
  
Since Sonic's disappearance, the fox had put everything into finding him. The two-tailed vulpine had asked everyone, had searched everywhere. But Sonic had disappeared. And now Eggman was starting to fight back.  
  
With the Shadow/monster at his side, and without Sonic's speed, they suffered defeat after defeat. When the Workshop was attacked for the fifth time, they agreed to retreat to Angel Island.  
  
It was a temporary haven. At least they weren't attacked every hour. Below them, Eggman raged a battle with the government. But the humans were losing. Cities were ruined, water supplies cut off. And still Eggman advanced.  
  
It had been a close escape from the base. If Rouge hadn't sneaked in through an alternative entrance as back-up, they would all have died. As it was, it was close.  
  
Rouge had jumped down from the ceiling, and shattered the tube. He, Knuckles, had faced the monster. It was unbelievably fast, attacking him from all sides. He had put up his fists as a defence, but the thing would already be behind him.  
  
Then he lashed out madly. The thing seemed to dodge him with ease, spinning around and then in. Pain had lanced across his face, and he had fallen back, one eye blinded. Meanwhile, Tails had grabbed a sheet of metal, pulled it off the wall Amy had said, and approached the robot.  
  
As it hit his face, Tails brought the metal crashing down on it with a clang. The monster sparked and hissed, jerking on the floor. Then they were away, hearing Eggman's astounded shouts behind them, the guardbots seeming to come from every direction.  
  
Knuckles didn't know how they did it, but they got out somehow. He leaned against a supporting pillar, staring at the door with his good eye. From inside, voices could clearly be heard.  
  
"You didn't...?" "Yes, that's right!" "I don't believe it...it's impossible! He was never like that..." The second voice, recognisably Tails', broke off with a sob. The door creaked open, and Amy walked slowly out.  
  
She wearily closed the door, and signalled that Knuckles could go in. It had been earlier that day that the first sighting of Sonic had been made. It was Amy herself that saw him, when she went down for supplies.  
  
Wearing her long black cloak for a disguise, she had headed down to one of the only half-ruined cities. Whenever she went down normally, either a robot patrol tried to capture her, or pleading humans surrounded her, demanding to know where Sonic was, and why she wasn't helping.  
  
As she walked back along the dirty street, she saw a neon sign flashing. A bar. Most were destroyed, and the bags were heavy. She walked through the door, over to the counter, and ordered a lemonade.  
  
Next to her sat another animal. They were not nearly as common as humans, but still a normal sight. But hedgehogs were very rare. That's what caught her attention. The hedgehog was a male, with silvery fur that looked as if it might have had a different colour once. But the long black coat concealed most of him.  
  
She looked sideways at him, trying to place what was so familiar. The barman came over and set a coke on the counter. "Thanks." the hedgehog said quietly, reaching out. She saw that he was wearing tattered white gloves, and caught her breath.  
  
She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, wanting to be sure, yet not sure what she wanted to see. He slowly turned to her, tired green eyes regarding her warily, though her face was hidden in the hood.  
  
"Sonic?..." she muttered quietly. The hedgehogs pupils widened a little, almost in recognition, but he turned away quickly. "That's not my name. You've got me confused with someone else." he said.  
  
His voice, his eyes...so familiar, and yet changed. It had to be him. She looked closer at his fur and quills, and saw that the silver colour was a type of dust, concealing the true colour.  
  
She reached out gently to touch one. Her touch was very light, and the hedgehog didn't notice. She slowly moved her finger along, and a small silver colour came away on her glove.  
  
Underneath, the hedgehog's fur was blue. "Sonic, it's me! It's Amy!" she cried, pulling away the hood. Sonic looked around quickly, and saw a hedgehog that he had known so well.  
  
She had changed a bit, though. The innocent look was gone from her eyes. She looked like a fighter. The other customers looked around curiously, but only saw a silver hedgehog and a hedgehog in a cloak. They looked away.  
  
"You're still alive?" he asked slowly, looking at her in disbelief. She fought to contain her excitement, and said quickly, "Yes, we all are! Oh, Sonic, I've missed you. We need your help!"  
  
He looked down and away, all the life fading from his eyes. "Nobody needs me. I'm a failure." he said bitterly. Amy stared at him in shock. This was nothing like the hedgehog she knew.  
  
"Sonic, of course we need your help! Eggman is taking over! Please, come back." she pleaded. Sonic jumped up, and spun to face her, anger dancing in his eyes. "D'you think I haven't noticed? You don't know what it's like, spending every day reliving what you've done wrong! But never being able to change things? You don't think I hate it?!"  
  
The old Amy would have cringed away, or started to cry. But she had changed. She stood up defiantly, ignoring the curious looks from the other customers. "Then come back! Make a difference! How much longer do you think it'll be before Eggman attacks us again?! How much longer can we hold out?" she ended in a hiss. "Angel Island won't last forever."  
  
Sonic looked surprised, shocked. Then his anger returned, worse than before. He jumped up, knocking over the stool, and cried, "So?! I can't do anything! You saw in the base! Like I would make a difference!"  
  
Amy glared at him, and shot back, "Listen to yourself! What happened to the hedgehog I fell in love with? You're only hurting yourself by staying away! Do you want to be responsible for us all dying?!"  
  
Sonic raised a hand as though he would hit her, and then took a look at what he was doing. She was right; what had happened to him? Hurting his friends, letting Eggman win? Then he remembered those eyes...  
  
With a cry of frustration he turned and ran out of the bar, dropping his coat and leaving a cloud of silver dust behind. His speed hadn't deserted him. Amy coughed and choked, and then slowly grabbed her bags.  
  
Ignoring the looks of open disbelief from the customers, she pulled up her hood and stomped out of the door.  
  
As Knuckles went in to talk to Tails, Amy walked out to the balcony. The stars were spread above, and shone beautifully, but she didn't she them. She stared into the distance, thinking of all the happy times she had shared with the blue hedgehog.  
  
Yet he still stayed away, she thought. Why? Why doesn't he come back? What's wrong? It can't just be Shad- that thing.  
  
Far below, Sonic skidded to a halt. He had run all afternoon and through the evening, and had to stop. There would have been a time when he could have run full speed for days...but that was a long time ago.  
  
He flopped down on the grassy hillside, noting the lack of flowers, and the dull green colour of the grass itself...a battleground. He stared into the sky, not seeing the stars either. Why didn't he go back?  
  
Seeing Amy had brought it all flooding back. He had been so busy thinking of himself, he had never wondered about the others, just assumed, in the back of his mind, that they were all dead.  
  
He had spent all the time catching up. Years of grief and troubles that had been buried had come flooding up. All his mistakes...he had run from them in true Sonic style, putting on a carefree face.  
  
He dealt with the troubles of others, but didn't have anyone to help him with his own...but now that he knew his friends were still alive...he had been beaten long enough. Time to fight back. Where was Angel Island? He had made his choice.  
  
In the Workshop, Rouge sat in the weapons room. Her knowledge of gadgets, combined with Tails' inventory abilities, was invaluable. She slowly inched two electrodes together, peering through a microscope.  
  
Tails shuffled slowly into the inventing room. But he had no eyes for his inventions. He walked over to Rouge, sighing, and said, "Hey. What time is it?" Rouge looked up with a yawn, and said, "11:00. Are you ok?"  
  
Tails nodded, and sat down. It was like he had aged a lot in the space of one year. His normally white fur was a grey colour, and one of his tails was drooping limply where a robot had, long ago, slashed it almost apart. Rouge felt a stab of pity looking at the fox.  
  
He had seen too much for one so young. Only nine years old, though she found it hard to believe sometimes. He drooped in his seat, and looked at her with sad eyes. "Did Amy tell you?"  
  
He asked almost hesitantly. Rouge nodded quietly, but couldn't find words. Tails suddenly bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. "Why doesn't he come back?" he choked out, trying not to cry.  
  
Rouge gently hugged him. He was only a kid, and Sonic had been his best friend. "It's ok...I'm sure he'll come back...soon." Suddenly Tails seemed to age ten years. He steadied, and said, "No, he won't. You always say that, but he never does. It's ok if he doesn't...care about us."  
  
Tails shuffled away, head hanging, as if Rouge had yelled at him. She stared after him, mixed feelings showing in her eyes. Tails was too young to have to say such things...if Sonic ever came back, Rouge was going to hit him so hard for what he'd done...  
  
Amy, outside, suddenly blinked. What had caught her attention? Then she saw it, a flashing light against the grassy hill. "Oh no..." she whispered, knowing what it meant.  
  
"Knuckles! Knuckles!" He came running at her call. "Look! Is it...?" Amy said, pointing outside. The echidna turned his head to look with his good eye, and said, "Eggman must have decided to attack...no, wait..."  
  
He squinted harder. "It's...just the monster...he thought it could beat us all by itself? He must have upgraded it." Knuckles finished in a groan. "We are all inside, right?" Amy said worriedly.  
  
Then Rouge came running in. "Where's Tails? Is he here?" she cried, worriedly. Amy shook her head, and the three ran downstairs. A terrible sight met thier eyes.  
  
It was going to hit him, he knew it. There was nothing he could do; no time to get up from the floor, or dodge, and yet everything seemed to be moving slowly...so slowly.  
  
He watched silently as the blade in the monster's hands inched towards him, and his twin tails drooped automatically, moving down so slowly it was like they weren't moving at all.  
  
He could see the others nearby, and yet too far away. Amy started to move forward, her mouth opening to shout words that didn't come out.  
  
The half-robot was only a few metres away now, he could see the tiniest details on its face, in its red eyes, robotic and normal. There was nothing he could do. He shut his eyes, and waited.  
  
Then time jerked, and everything happened at once. Amy ran forward, shouting "Tails!" Rouge grabbed her arm, pulling her out of range of the robot's spikes.  
  
Knuckles punched forward, but his fist bounced straight off the armour, and it knocked him away with its spare arm. And the robot swung its blade.  
  
Tails waited, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes, confused, and then stared in shock. Sonic stood in front of him like a shield, one hand holding back the blade, eyes blazing with anger.  
  
The robot let out a long bleep of annoyance. Sonic snarled back, and twisted his cut hand. The blade was sent twirling away. Then the two were fighting, punching and kicking too fast to see.  
  
Amy dived forward, and yanked Tails back. The fox was too stunned too move. "Sonic...he...wha?" the fox stuttered. "Somebody, do something!" Amy cried, as one wall of the workshop was smashed through.  
  
Sonic could see every move the robotic hedgehog was making. To the others it was a blur, but for him it was a normal fight. The monster was nothing like the Shadow he had known, it just attacked blindly.  
  
It would have been deadly for anyone else, yet Sonic's reactions were not what they had been anyway. Apart from the occassional weak robot patrol, he had fought nothing for months.  
  
As the robot launched a kick at him, he dodged and grabbed its foot. He hurled it over his shoulder, and spun round to leap at it. The robot rolled to the side and he hit the dirt. It rose over his shoulder, and slashed...where he had been a second before.  
  
He rolled behind it and grabbed its spike. The metal plates sparked with electricity, but he ignored it, and clung on. The robot whirled around, trying to hit him, but couldn't.  
  
If he had been at full strength, he would have jumped off by then, but fatigue was clouding his judgement. The robot jumped down onto its back. Crushed beneath it, Sonic felt the spikes, half normal, half metal, both sharp.  
  
With a cry of pain he hauled it bodily into the air, and tossed it forward. He fell to his knees, gasping, feeling blood on his chest, but ignoring it. He staggered to his feet, and charged head-on at the robot, which did the same.  
  
They met in a crash, face to face, both trying to push the other over. Sonic stared into its dead eye, and felt a sudden surge of anger. Eggman would pay for what he had done! Shadow had died like a hero and deserved to rest like a hero.  
  
He leapt up suddenly and the robot shot past him. He landed on both feet, and spun round, gasping. Both fighters paused. Sonic was panting, long slashes on his chest and his hand, and the robot had long furrows in the metal, was also bleeding on the fur.  
  
Knuckles looked desparately, trying to find an opening, but before he could move the pair were fighting again. They were just too fast to catch. If any of them got close, the opponents would already be somewhere else.  
  
Then they were in front of the workshop, and the robot was on top of Sonic, crushing him into the ground. It aimed for his head, and raised its claws. Tails gasped, and grabbed a metal pole.  
  
He threw it with all his strength, and it hit the robot squarely in the head. His aim had improved, after long battles. The monster was distracted, and Sonic used his last chance.  
  
As it slashed down again, he twisted around and, pulling out a gem, he gasped out, "Chaos...control!" with a flash he was gone, the robot was on the ground. Sonic reappeared over it, and spindashed down.  
  
The robot let out a metallic scream, and, throwing Sonic off, ran for it over the island, circuits sparking. Sonic landed with a thud next to Amy, and muttered, "Ouch..." Then he passed out. But he had done it. He had stood up to the past.  
  
Knuckles slowly walked over and picked up the chaos emerald. "So...Eggman didn't have it after all..." he muttered.  
  
*  
  
Flower: Phew...I think that came out pretty well! Though I probably won't write another chapter. It depends...*shrug* ^-^ Yay! Good story!  
  
Chaos: *nod* Yup. Not bad.  
  
Flower: ^-^ Review if you think it was good...it's up to you. 


End file.
